Hospital apologizes after Toronto teen receives COVID-19 vaccine not yet approved for children

TORONTO -

A 15-year-old boy looking to get his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine says he was shocked to find out he had been given the wrong shot after the vaccination had already taken place.

Rakin Choudhury went to the vaccination site at Warden Hilltop Community Centre, which is operated by Michael Garron Hospital in the city’s east end, with his father Rejoan and two siblings on Tuesday.

Because of his age, Choudhury was expecting to receive a shot of Pfizer, as it is the only COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada for children between the ages of 12 and 17.

“When we were first registering for the vaccine, we told the person with the iPad at least four or five times that we were getting Pfizer,” Choudhury said, speaking to CTV News Toronto.

When the teen got written confirmation of his vaccination, Choudhury said he noticed he had received a shot of Moderna instead.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Michael Garron said it has been in touch with Choudhury’s family and that it had apologized for the error.

“The patient is stable and the incident is being reviewed with the team to ensure processes are in place to prevent this error from occurring in the future,” said Wolf Klassen, Vice President of Program Support at Michael Garron Hospital.

Choudhury’s father explained that while the incident is unsettling, he hopes sharing the story will prevent similar errors from taking place.

“Before this becomes more widespread, we need to stop it,” Rejoan said.

Choudhury said he experienced some nausea following the vaccination, but is feeling OK now.

Due to a delivery delay earlier this month, clinics across the city have been reserving Pfizer doses for children between the ages of 12 and 17 while adults receive doses of Moderna.

CTV News Toronto has reached out to the Ontario Ministry of Health to see if any other children have received the incorrect vaccine.

Choudhury’s two siblings, who are 16 and 12 years old both received a correct Pfizer shot at the same COVID-19 vaccination clinic.

On June 7, Moderna announced it had filed for Health Canada authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine to be used in adolescents. At that time, the pharmaceutical company said its shot had a 93 per cent efficacy two weeks after the first dose in adolescents who tested negative for ever having COVID-19.

The vaccine was “generally well tolerated” and there were no significant safety concerns, according to Moderna.